The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues its collaboration with the Florida Department of Health to investigate one of the worst outbreaks of meningococcal disease among gay and bisexual men in U.S. history. At least 24 cases and 6 deaths among gay and bisexual men have been reported.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Source: Health News Florida

BA.4 and BA.5 now account for nearly 35 percent of U.S. cases, according to the CDC's latest variant proportion update. The strains have become known as "sister variants" of the original omicron strain.

A recent survey of 6,663 adults conducted by West Health and Gallup found 8 percent of adults cut back on paying for utilities to pay for healthcare.

Facebook is facing a lawsuit alleging the company is receiving private medical data when patients access hospital websites for healthcare providers, Bloomberg reported June 17.

The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco federal court on June 17 on behalf of millions of patients, accuses the company's Meta Pixel tracking tool of redirecting patient communications and other secure information to Facebook without authorization.

More than 14 percent of the world’s population may have had Lyme disease, an analysis released on Monday revealed.

The research, published in BMJ Global Health, is the result of an examination of nearly 90 studies. It offers an unprecedentedly robust picture of how common the tick-borne illness may be.

A Greenburgh woman pocketed more than $1 million from unsuspecting borrowers when she got their student loans discharged by fraudulently claiming they were permanently disabled, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Catherine Seemer, a nurse practitioner, was arrested Wednesday by the FBI on federal charges of wire fraud, financial aid fraud and aggravated identity theft. She is accused of using doctors’ pedigree information and forged signatures to certify disability diagnoses that got more than $10.5 million in loans discharged for at least 125 people.

A new study launching next week aims to answer some frequently asked questions about toxic algae blooms in Florida’s coastal waters: Are they getting worse? And are people the reason why?

For the first time in nearly 40 years, health officials in the U.K. have identified a likely outbreak of polio in London.

So far, there have been no cases of polio detected directly in the U.K. But instead, scientists have discovered the outbreak through an indirect route. They've found multiple versions of the virus in sewage water, the U.K. Health Security Agency said Wednesday in a press release.

Finance content crafted specifically for physicians that want to learn how to use money to live better lives.

The rankings are based on an analysis of nearly 3,000 U.S. communities. Communities are scored on 89 indicators across 10 categories that drive community health: population health, equity, education, economy, housing, food and nutrition, environment, crime, community stability and infrastructure. Population health and equity are the most heavily weighted categories. The top 500 communities made the list.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen has threatened to retaliate against the Minnesota board that oversees doctors, which is investigating him for the fifth time, vowing that “this juggernaut will be dealt with” if he’s elected.

Medical Economics® understands physician burnout and challenges that impact your business. Join us on June 30th for this must-attend virtual learning event. Expert-led panelists will guide you through ways to: streamline challenges, maximize efficiency, and put more money in your pocket.

For more information and to register, click here.

The focus of the 2022 symposium is Integrated Health Care for Seniors. The free symposium will include presentations from a cross section of medical and dental professionals who will discuss the components and benefits of medical-dental integration -- an approach that coordinates dental and primary medical care to improve overall patient systemic health. The symposium is a collaboration between Florida Blue Foundation and Florida Combined Life.

For information and to register, click here.

National Hurricane Center: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

National Weather Service Tallahassee: https://www.weather.gov/tae/

Leon County Disaster Survival Guide: https://www2.leoncountyfl.gov/haveahurricaneplan/assets/2022-leon-county-dsg-tab.pdf 

Franklin County Emergency Management: https://www.franklinemergencymanagement.com/

Gasden County Site: https://www.gadsdencountyfl.gov/

Gulf County Emergency Management: https://www.gulfcounty-fl.gov/county_government/emergency_management

Jefferson County Site: http://www.jeffersoncountyfl.gov/

Leon County Emergency Management: https://cms.leoncountyfl.gov/Home/County-Administrator/Administration/Assistant-to-the-County-Administrator-for-Community-Relations-and-Resilience/Emergency-Management

Leon Ready Resources: http://www.leonready.com/

Liberty County Emergency Management: https://libertycountyflem.com/

Madison County Emergency Management: https://madisoncountyfl.com/emergency-management/

Taylor County Sheriffs Office: https://taylorsheriff.org/

Wakulla County Emergency Management: https://www.wcso.org/emergency-management

Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/local/florida/north-florida.html

2-1-1 Big Bend: https://211bigbend.org/

Special Needs Registry for Special Needs Shelter (SpNS) for someone who during periods of evacuation or emergency, requires sheltering assistance due to physical impairment or disabilities who are medically stable and do not require medical care:

Send your updates to rcarlin@capmed.org.

Subject line: Member Updates

The CMS has had a long-standing relationship with Jeff Cohen and The Florida Healthcare Law Firm. Did you know that you can tap into a program called Healthcare Lawyer On Call through Jeff and his firm? That's right! On-Call is different than what you may be used to and doesn't mean that you'll find an attorney at 3 AM to answer a question, but what it does mean is that you can call and speak with someone at The Florida Healthcare Law Firm for 15 minutes at no charge! Please remember that any purely verbal discussion on legal matters is simply the lawyer’s best (and unconfirmed) understanding. Another benefit of being a CMS member!

In the latest AMA STEPS Forward^® podcast episode, Dr. Nigel Girgrah, Chief Wellness Officer at Ochsner Health System, discusses strategies for creating a culture of well-being at your health care organization – including addressing mental health stigma, building a strong EAP program, employing an opt out vs opt in approach, and encouraging leadership to be vulnerable about their own burnout struggles.

Americans can once again order free COVID-19 tests from the federal government by visiting COVIDtests.gov. In this round, the U.S. Postal Service will deliver eight free rapid antigen tests to any household in the U.S. that wants them, according to the website. That brings to sixteen the total tests offered per household so far.

Search https://arcg.is/1LLfLi0 for a map of all available testing and vaccination sites in Leon County, along with hours and scheduling details.  

Source: Leon County COVID-19 Information Portal

Physician practices across the country continue to operate in an atmosphere of uncertainty, now compounded by a staffing crisis due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. In the latest AMA STEPS Forward^TM webinar, “Navigating the Current Healthcare Landscape: COVID-19, Staffing Crisis, and Administrative Burden,” attendees will hear about the current health care workforce landscape, how to plan for workplace shortages, and best practices in workplace safety and efficiencies for staff. The webinar will also feature practical, actionable resources to transform and improve your practice. Accompanying the webinar, the AMA has released an updated version of “A Physician Guide to Keeping Your Practice Open During COVID-19” to address concerns about workforce protection and retention during the pandemic. 

Wolfson Children’s Hospital is proud to provide Continuing Medical Education opportunities to our partners and referring providers by offering monthly virtual CME sessions at no cost. If you have missed any of our previously offered live webinars and still wish to obtain CME credit for them, we have provided 4 recorded webinars for a total of 5.5 CME credits possible. Please follow the instructions below in order to take advantage of this opportunity!

1.      Open the flyer and choose which education session you would like to watch.

2.      Click the link in the attachment for the desired education session.

4.      Follow the instructions included in the video description to complete the required survey and input the associated activity code.

*Please note, if you are licensed outside of the state of Florida, you must contact the CME office at Kimberly.Branham-Nelson@bmcjax.com to request an official transcript of your participation.

FreeCME.com 

Diagnostic error continues to be a top patient safety concern, a global burden, and cause patient harm from treatment delay, testing, or misdiagnosis. “Prevention of Diagnostic Error in Primary Care” is an on-demand CME activity that features patient safety expert Jeffrey A. Gold, MD, professor of medicine, vice chair for quality and safety, for the department of medicine at the Oregon Health and Science University. This program highlights major contributing factors of diagnostic error along with the diagnostic process of care framework with additional focus on strategies to mitigate risk of patient harm in the primary care setting.

2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ or 2.5 ADA CE Credits

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is also available today through online chats. 988 is not a nationwide texting code right now.

Service members, Veterans, and their families can reach the Veterans Crisis Line by texting 838255, and through online chats at veteranscrisisline.net.

How can we talk with our patients about the health risks of climate change without disrupting the office visit? This important topic can be time-consuming and even controversial. This month, the Capital Medical Society’s My Green Doctor explains an easy solution that may work well in your practice: https://www.mygreendoctor.org/teaching-patients-climate-change-in-just-45-seconds-three-easy-scripts/.

My Green Doctor is a free money-saving membership benefit for members of the Capital Medical Society. Members use My Green Doctor’s “Meeting-by-Meeting Guide” to learn how to adopt environmental sustainability, save resources, and help create healthier communities. The program adds just five minutes to each regular office staff meeting or weekly office “huddle”, making small changes at each meeting that over time really add up.

Everyone in your practice can register as Partner Society members at www.MyGreenDoctor.org or at www.MyGreenDoctor.es (si, en Espanol) and can use the discount code MGDCMS to save $60 instantly and give full access to My Green Doctor for free. Ask your practice manager to register today and to put My Green Doctor on your next agenda. You can do this!

Board-certified physicians are getting another extension on the deadline to maintain their internal medicine credentials.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) once again extended the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements through December 2022.

Electronic Prescribing Requirements (Florida Board of Medicine)

Florida ePrescribing Clearinghouse (Agency for Healthcare Administration)

The purpose of the Florida ePrescribing Clearinghouse is to provide information that contributes to the promotion and implementation of electronic prescribing by health care practitioners, health care facilities, and pharmacies in order to prevent prescription drug abuse, improve patient safety, and reduce unnecessary prescriptions. This Clearinghouse contains information on the advantages, processes, products, rules, and laws of ePrescribing as well as Florida ePrescribing reports.

The Capital Medical Society will publish its 2023 Membership Directory early next year. It will be distributed to all members. We have once again partnered with E&M Consulting to produce the directory. E&M will be contacting our members over the next few months about advertising opportunities in the directory. E&M will manage all the advertising sales, creative design, and formatting of the publication for us. This is a very professional group with experience in publishing association directories. If you have any questions or would like to advertise, please contact an E&M sales associate at 800-572-0011 ext. 8005 or advertising@eandmsales.com. Please be responsive and help support this directory. Remember, it will include our entire medical community.  

Machine donations can be dropped off at Capital Medical Society Foundation's office at 1204 Miccosukee Road, Tallahassee, FL 32308. Donations to Capital Medical Society Foundation are tax-deductible within IRS guidelines Federal Tax I.D. #: 59-2104510. For additional information, please call 942-5215 or email dbixler@capmed.org.

To view Physician Wellness resources, click here.

7 Cures for the Jaded Physician in 2022 (Medical Economics)

Click here to access AmazonSmile and support the CMS Foundation today!